George Floyd, a 46-year-old black male, was muɼdered by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25, 2020. A store clerk claimed that Floyd made a purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill, leading to Floyd’s arrest.
Floyd was handcuffed and face-down in the street when Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes. J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, two other police officers, assisted Chauvin in restraining Floyd. Prior to Floyd being placed in handcuffs, Lane also aimed a gun at Floyd’s head. Tou Thao, the fourth officer, prevented bystanders from intervening.
Prior to being deposited on the ground, Floyd exhibited anxious behavior, complaining of claustrophobia and inability to breathe. He got more distressed after being confined, still complaining of breathing difficulties, the knee on his neck, and the fear of deἀth.
Do you know that Brian Laundrie’s cause of deἀth was made public on Monday (May 22), after officials said that only his bones were left after animals had eaten most of his body? Brian Laundrie was the fiancé of Gabby Petito, and his disappearance last summer sparked an uproar:
Floyd ceased speaking after a duration of time. He had been motionless for several minutes, and when Officer Kueng checked for a pulse, he found none. Despite this, Chauvin refused to move his knee away from Floyd’s neck. After videos captured by witnesses and security cameras were made public the following day, all four officers were terminated.
Floyd’s deἀth was ruled a homἰcide by two autopsies and one autopsy review. Minneapolis agreed to pay US$27 million to resolve a wrongful deἀth lawsuit filed by Floyd’s family on March 12, 2021. On June 25, Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison after being convicted of unintentional second-degree muɼder, third-degree muɼder, and second-degree manslἀughter on April 20.
Each officer was charged with federal civil rights violations. Chauvin pled guilty to federal charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights by using excessive force and ignoring his severe physical suffering in December 2021. Later, the remaining three officers were also found guilty of violating Floyd’s civil rights.
In May 2022, Lane pled guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslἀughter. On September 21, 2022, he was sentenced to three years in state incarceration to be served concurrently with his 2.5-year federal sentence.
On October 24, 2022, Kueng pleaded guilty to the state allegations of aiding and abetting manslἀughter and was sentenced to concurrently serve 42 months in prison with his federal sentence. Thao waived his right to a jury trial on the state offense in favor of a judge’s review of the evidence and decision.
On May 2, 2023, he was judged guilty of aiding and abetting manslἀughter in a written verdict. His sentencing date is August 7, 2023. Floyd’s muɼder sparked worldwide protests against police vἰolence, racἰsm, and a lack of police accountability. In order to access more information like this, follow us on Twitter.